Al-Walid I

al-Walid I (668-23 February 715) was the Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate from 705 to 715, succeeding Abu-al-Malik and preceding Sulayman ibn Abu-al-Malik.

Biography
al-Walid was a son of Caliph Abu-al-Malik and Walida bint Al-Abbas, and was a Sunni Muslim Bedouin. al-Walid succeeded his father on his death in 705, and reigned until his death in 715. During his reign, the Umayyad Caliphate expanded to become a very large empire. In 711 alone, the Umayyads crossed over from Morocco into Spain, and they overran most of the country that year after the Battle of Transductine Promontories. By 712, Islamic armies had made it to the Indus River in India, and they also pushed into Afghanistan and central Asia. He also built the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, said to contain the head of John the Baptist. al-Walid died in 715, and was succeeded by his younger brother Sulayman ibn Abu-al-Malik.